No, you just want them to be polarized towards something other than MS. I'm not saying that's necessarily a bad thing, but don't kid yourself.
I disagree. I'm a teacher in a mixed Linux/Windows based school. All students learn to use both system for basic tasks like word processing and file management. The ultimate idea is to teach them generally about computers so they are better prepared for whatever new systems they might encounter later.
I am first to admit I do not know the dissadvantages or advantages of it. Are there any? or is it just syntax?
Disclaimer: I have an M.Sci in physics with a slant towards computational physics. I'm most familiar with F90 but its advantages should apply to the later revisions as well.
Fortran is a slightly higher-level language than C. It has lots of math capabilities built-in; particularly matrix types and operations meaning good potential for parallel processing. Decent compilers can produce multiprocessor and MMX/SSE code from Fortran, and probably the equivalent on non-x86 platforms. I'm not sure if you can do this in C portably.
Fortran has a fairly simple overall syntax where newlines matter. I found it very easy to learn, having some experience with Python and C. In some ways the syntax is rather arcane but at least it's quite clear (compared to C or Perl at least IMHO).
Fortran does have pointers, but they are unnecessary because of other memory handling methods (namespaces or 'modules'). Dynamic memory allocation is a bit quirky IMHO, but way simpler than in C.
The language feels well suited for physicists. It's not necessarily good for general programming, but I'd happily use it for many speed-critical sections instead of C.
One important reason for the persistence of Fortran is the number of libraries for computational sciences, for example LAPACK. They can be included in modern Fortran programs despite being written in F77. There have been a number of attempts to make a scripting front-end for these libraries; Matlab is one of them, even though its F77 roots are not very visible.
The common complaints about Fortran are mostly true for F77 and older revisions. F77 is a truly horrible language, and it has none of the nice features that make F90+ good for scientific computing.
By broadband they are talking about the bandwitdth between the cores, bandwidth is not only a measure of network speed.
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it does.";)
Bandwidth does not mean data-transfer rate, no matter what the marketroids say. They are different quantities measuring different things in different units. Even though they are related in some cases.
Unfortunately, the electrolysis of sea water produces hydrogen and chlorine (assuming it's mostly NaCl in water). There could be other routes, but for basic electrolysis you need clean, distilled water to produce hydrogen and oxygen.
I think he was referring to the fact that not all compact flash cards are without moving parts, like IBM Microdrives.
Microdrives are not flash cards, they are hard drives. Even though they have a CF connector.
Flash refers to 'flash EEPROM' which is different from an ordinary EEPROM in that it can be quickly erased (and possibly read/written too) in blocks instead of single bytes.
But my computer still has moving electrons and photons;)
Maybe the better phrase here is bloated code rather than bigger code? Not to flame an otherwise informative post, but the always part is probably a little strong.
Thanks for the correction. I was generalizing a bit too much. My excuse is having a VIA Nehemiah with a very small cache (64 KB L2), so these things matter more than usually.
Although Gentoo is indeed fast as well, the main differentiating factor with Gentoo is that you build most of your system from source, which has other benefits (disadvantages) than simply execution speed.
This is very true, and I'd like to clarify the reasons. The main one IMHO is that a lot of software options are compile-time. For example I don't use Gnome or KDE, thus I don't want any of the relevant dependencies/bindings compiled into the software I use. Many desktop oriented distros choose nearly every possible binding like this, 'just in case' it is needed. Even when the relevant code is not really used, bigger code is always slower.
The fact that Yoper is compiled for i686 should not make much difference; there are tons of compiler options that go beyond simple i686 capabilities. In fact many compile-time optimizations are due to compiler-independent options as I mentioned above.
It seems Yoper is fast because of prelinking. Gentoo with prelinking should be even faster. But again Gentoo's main point is not that it's fast; it's the ability to control almost every detail of software installation, while avoiding the complications from manual./configure; make; make install.
True. Some sources cite PCMCIA as meaning "people cannot manage computer industry acronyms", while in REALITY it means "People Cannot Manage Computer Industry Abbreviations".
OpenGL is a graphics API, and there are many closed-source implementations, for example binary-only drivers for video cards. It is an open standard meaning it's possible to make opensource implementations such as Mesa.
But if you're a guy who actually does like solving math problems, and someone comes along and offers you $1 million, it's probably pretty useless to you, sine it doesn't help you solve math problems.
I'd probably have written "cos it doesn't help you solve math problems.";-)
Anyway, I for one would gladly take the million bucks. Spend it on musical instruments and computers to help me in things I'm interested in. Oh yeah, and pencils.
The real bitch about the whole thing is proving that your program is valid.
I agree; IANAM but I believe it's a problem with higher levels of abstraction. You need to have a metamathematics to deal with a proof in mathematics. Then your program is actually a problem of metamathematics, and you need metametamaths to prove that...
Acronym is a special kind of abbreviation that can be pronounced as a word. Those described in the article are not acronyms, whereas NATO and BASIC are.
"50% faster" means 1.5 times faster.
"100% faster" means 2 times faster.
Even this is not true! '50% faster' means 150% times the original, i.e. 1.5 times as fast.
This is a common confusion, but it makes one hell of a difference. 'N% faster' means '(100+N)% as fast', because faster is always more than the original.
It should be obvious that '50% as fast' is less than the original, but '50% faster' is more than the original.
100% faster means twice as fast, not 2 times faster.
I know that's supposed to be funny... but anyway, it takes an intelligence to know one. SETI is looking for an intelligence comparable to our own, no matter how dumb or smart that means.
Slashdot Mirror
I disagree. I'm a teacher in a mixed Linux/Windows based school. All students learn to use both system for basic tasks like word processing and file management. The ultimate idea is to teach them generally about computers so they are better prepared for whatever new systems they might encounter later.
http://www.computerworld.com.nyud.net:8090/printth is/2004/0,4814,95988,00.html
http://www.computerworld.com.nyud.net:8090/softwar etopics/os/linux/story/0,10801,95988,00.html
Disclaimer: I have an M.Sci in physics with a slant towards computational physics. I'm most familiar with F90 but its advantages should apply to the later revisions as well.
Fortran is a slightly higher-level language than C. It has lots of math capabilities built-in; particularly matrix types and operations meaning good potential for parallel processing. Decent compilers can produce multiprocessor and MMX/SSE code from Fortran, and probably the equivalent on non-x86 platforms. I'm not sure if you can do this in C portably.
Fortran has a fairly simple overall syntax where newlines matter. I found it very easy to learn, having some experience with Python and C. In some ways the syntax is rather arcane but at least it's quite clear (compared to C or Perl at least IMHO).
Fortran does have pointers, but they are unnecessary because of other memory handling methods (namespaces or 'modules'). Dynamic memory allocation is a bit quirky IMHO, but way simpler than in C.
The language feels well suited for physicists. It's not necessarily good for general programming, but I'd happily use it for many speed-critical sections instead of C.
One important reason for the persistence of Fortran is the number of libraries for computational sciences, for example LAPACK. They can be included in modern Fortran programs despite being written in F77. There have been a number of attempts to make a scripting front-end for these libraries; Matlab is one of them, even though its F77 roots are not very visible.
The common complaints about Fortran are mostly true for F77 and older revisions. F77 is a truly horrible language, and it has none of the nice features that make F90+ good for scientific computing.
If you're using borg methods to raise the money, it doesn't help if you spend it on a good cause.
Giving away money doesn't make you better if it comes from illegal or otherwise immoral activities.
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it does." ;)
Bandwidth does not mean data-transfer rate, no matter what the marketroids say. They are different quantities measuring different things in different units. Even though they are related in some cases.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth
http://everything2.org/index.pl?node_id=871448
http://everything2.org/index.pl?node_id=996851
Unfortunately, the electrolysis of sea water produces hydrogen and chlorine (assuming it's mostly NaCl in water). There could be other routes, but for basic electrolysis you need clean, distilled water to produce hydrogen and oxygen.
Microdrives are not flash cards, they are hard drives. Even though they have a CF connector.
Flash refers to 'flash EEPROM' which is different from an ordinary EEPROM in that it can be quickly erased (and possibly read/written too) in blocks instead of single bytes.
But my computer still has moving electrons and photons ;)
Thanks for the correction. I was generalizing a bit too much. My excuse is having a VIA Nehemiah with a very small cache (64 KB L2), so these things matter more than usually.
This is very true, and I'd like to clarify the reasons. The main one IMHO is that a lot of software options are compile-time. For example I don't use Gnome or KDE, thus I don't want any of the relevant dependencies/bindings compiled into the software I use. Many desktop oriented distros choose nearly every possible binding like this, 'just in case' it is needed. Even when the relevant code is not really used, bigger code is always slower.
The fact that Yoper is compiled for i686 should not make much difference; there are tons of compiler options that go beyond simple i686 capabilities. In fact many compile-time optimizations are due to compiler-independent options as I mentioned above.
It seems Yoper is fast because of prelinking. Gentoo with prelinking should be even faster. But again Gentoo's main point is not that it's fast; it's the ability to control almost every detail of software installation, while avoiding the complications from manual ./configure; make; make install.
I thought the republican spelling was 'nukular'
all your DVDs are turn into zombies!
True. Some sources cite PCMCIA as meaning "people cannot manage computer industry acronyms", while in REALITY it means "People Cannot Manage Computer Industry Abbreviations".
OpenGL is a graphics API, and there are many closed-source implementations, for example binary-only drivers for video cards. It is an open standard meaning it's possible to make opensource implementations such as Mesa.
Score: -1, racist
Innovation means exactly what Apple has done, turning a technological discovery into a successful product.
I'd probably have written "cos it doesn't help you solve math problems." ;-)
Anyway, I for one would gladly take the million bucks. Spend it on musical instruments and computers to help me in things I'm interested in. Oh yeah, and pencils.
I agree; IANAM but I believe it's a problem with higher levels of abstraction. You need to have a metamathematics to deal with a proof in mathematics. Then your program is actually a problem of metamathematics, and you need metametamaths to prove that...
http://everything2.org/?node=acronym
Even this is not true! '50% faster' means 150% times the original, i.e. 1.5 times as fast.
This is a common confusion, but it makes one hell of a difference. 'N% faster' means '(100+N)% as fast', because faster is always more than the original.
It should be obvious that '50% as fast' is less than the original, but '50% faster' is more than the original.
100% faster means twice as fast, not 2 times faster.
Given their reluctance to provide optimized binaries for different x86 CPUs, I doubt they'd want to tackle the diversity of GPUs as well.
#include <nitpick.h>
Both light and radio waves are electromagnetic waves. Light is not a radio wave any more than Linux is a Windows.
I know that's supposed to be funny... but anyway, it takes an intelligence to know one. SETI is looking for an intelligence comparable to our own, no matter how dumb or smart that means.
Doesn't Hz stand for frequency, 1 per second? How can this be 1.5 'events' per second per second?
This means a change in frequency. Say, the frequency starts at 100 Hz, and after 10 seconds it's 115 Hz. It's changed by 1.5 Hz per second.
Same with acceleration, it's a change in velocity so it's measured in meters per second per second.